U.S. Commerce Dept. adds seven Chinese supercomputing companies to Entity List
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has further expanded the roster of Chinese organizations with whom U.S. technology vendors can’t trade without a special permit (that likely won’t be granted). Seven Chinese organizations in the supercomputing field are now on the Entity List “for conducting activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States,” according to BIS.
The seven additions to the Entity List are Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou. The seven are considered threats to U.S. security or foreign policy because of their efforts to build supercomputers that BIS asserts are used by China’s military for “its destabilizing military modernization efforts” and/or programs related to weapons of mass destruction.
“Supercomputing capabilities are vital for the development of many – perhaps almost all – modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons. The Department of Commerce will use the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging U.S. technologies to support these destabilizing military modernization efforts,” commented U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo.
BIS has placed a large number of Chinese companies on the Entity List over the past few years, most often because they were deemed a threat to national security or alleged to have abetted human rights abuses. Huawei and ZTE were among the first companies ensnared in this initiative (for violating embargos on the sale of U.S. technology to such countries as North Korea and Iran; see “ZTE faces export sanctions from US Department of Commerce” and “Huawei faces U.S. technology access ban”), with Fiberhome added last May (see “U.S. Commerce Department adds Fiberhome to Entity List”).
For related articles, visit the Network Design Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of optical communications technology, subscribe to Lightwave’s Enabling Technologies Newsletter.
Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.